United Supermarkets Announces $3 Million Gift to Texas Tech Foundation

United Supermarkets announced a $3 million gift to the Texas Tech Foundation, Inc., to endow two scholarship programs at Texas Tech University and provide operational support for nursing programs at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

The announcement was made during a news conference at the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center on campus. It is the second-largest financial gift in United Supermarkets history, behind the $10 million pledged in 1996 toward the construction of the university’s United Spirit Arena.

The initial $2 million of the gift will go toward creating the United Supermarkets Graduate Fellowship Endowment, providing graduate fellowships and enhancing the research work of graduate students attending Texas Tech University. Recipients must have attended high school within the United Supermarkets trade area.

Monies for that program are eligible for matching funds from the Texas Research Incentive Program.

Another $700,000 will create the United Supermarkets Scholarship Endowment, providing scholarships for undergraduate students who attended high school also within the United Supermarkets trade area.

The remaining $300,000 is earmarked for operational support of the new Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing in Abilene.

Pending approval by the Texas Tech University System’s Board of Regents later this week, the student dining facility currently under construction near 19th and Boston will be named The Commons by United Supermarkets.

The two-story, 22,000-square-foot standalone dining facility will connect on the north side to a new 510-bed residence hall, which is expected to be completed this summer.

Also pending board approval, the United Supermarkets name will be displayed on the new School of Nursing building in downtown Abilene.

“We at United Supermarkets are extremely proud of our longstanding partnership with Texas Tech University,” said Matt Bumstead, co-president of United Supermarkets LLC, and a fourth-generation member of the ownership family. “United has always stood for enhancing the lives of the communities we serve. We have a passion for young people and a nearly century-old commitment to supporting their education. Today we are thrilled to join with Tech in helping make a top-notch college education possible for young people across our area…..for many years to come.”

“We are thrilled to receive such a substantial gift from United Supermarkets,” Kent Hance, chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, said. “Their continued support of Texas Tech is outstanding and will provide future generations of students with additional opportunities to excel.”